CHAPTER 21: The Monarch of the Grave
The air behind the waterfall didn't just smell of sulfur; it felt heavy, as if the oxygen itself had been replaced by a thick, psychic pressure. Lucius stood at the edge of the red-lit clearing, his eyes fixed on the Skarn-Queen.
She was a masterpiece of biological horror. Her carapace was not the matte black of the stalkers, but a polished, translucent crimson that allowed glimpses of the churning mana organs beneath.
Every time she moved, the bioluminescent moss beneath her feet withered, drained of its life force by her mere presence.
She was the apex of this subterranean ecosystem, a creature that had feasted on the mana of the failed and the fallen for decades.
Hans and Jax were frozen. This was the reality of the Talent System—when the gap between levels and ranks became too wide, the body's natural survival instinct overrode the mind's desire to fight. To them, the Queen wasn't just a monster; she was a wall of absolute power. Their breath came in shallow, jagged gasps, their hearts hammering against their ribs like trapped birds.
Jax, Lucius said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence like a cold blade. If you don't move now, your legs will lock permanently. Breathe.
Jax gasped, a ragged, desperate sound. Lucius... that thing is... it's a Peak C-rank. Its sensitivity is high enough to track our heartbeats. We're already dead.
I know, Lucius replied. That is why I am going to give it something else to track.
Lucius stepped further into the red light.
High above the dungeon, in the Observation Spire of Eclipse Academy, the atmosphere was vastly different. Dozens of magical screens flickered, showing the progress of various groups. Most instructors were focused on Prince Julian or Kaelera, whose flashy displays of power were a spectacle of high-tier Talents.
But Vice Headmaster Evelyn Moron remained standing in front of a smaller, shadowed screen. It showed three figures in a bioluminescent grave.
The Western Sector has been breached by the Queen's influence, a senior instructor noted, his brow furrowed. The mana leak from the C-rank rift was more significant than we calculated. That Skarn-Queen shouldn't be active yet. We should send a rescue team for the Venus boy's group. They are essentially lambs in a slaughterhouse.
Evelyn didn't look away from the screen. Her violet eyes reflected the crimson glow of the dungeon. No. If they are lambs, they will die. If he is who I think he is, he doesn't need a rescue team. He needs a stage.
But Vice Headmaster, the instructor protested, his Talent is a Unique-rank Teleportation with a massive delay. Against a Queen with high Sensitivity, he won't even be able to start the activation before he is decapitated.
Watch, was all she said.
Back in the grotto, the Skarn-Queen finally fully detached herself from the calcified wall. Her many legs clicked against the stone—a sound like hundreds of hammers hitting an anvil. She turned her massive, multi-faceted eyes toward Lucius.
A low, vibrating growl shook the grotto, causing dust to rain from the ceiling.
Hans, behind the pillar. Now! Lucius commanded.
Hans didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled behind a massive limestone formation, his hands shaking so violently he nearly dropped his staff. Jax, driven by a sudden surge of adrenaline, leaped toward a high ledge, his spear held ready, though his knuckles were white with tension.
The Queen lunged.
She didn't just move; she exploded. A blur of crimson carapace and serrated limbs tore through the air.... tearing the air apart.....The sound of her movement was a terrifying whistle, a testament to her sheer physical velocity.
Lucius did not draw his sword immediately. He stood his ground, his eyes tracking the Queen's movements with a cold, predatory focus.
His Advanced Sword Mastery, engraved into his very soul, allowed him to see the minute shifts in her muscles. He could feel the flow of her mana, the way it coiled in her legs before a leap. He wasn't relying on a system-assisted skill; he was using the peak of human capability refined by his own history.
At the last possible second, Lucius shifted his weight.
It wasn't a jump or a roll; it was a micro-adjustment of his center of gravity. The Queen's massive claw slammed into the ground exactly where his heart had been a heartbeat before. The impact shattered the obsidian floor, sending jagged shards of stone flying outward like shrapnel. One shard grazed Lucius's cheek, drawing a thin line of red, but he didn't blink.
He moved through the debris like a ghost, his body flowing around the Queen's bulky form.
Lucius drew his blade. The sound of steel leaving the scabbard was a crisp, singing note that momentarily drowned out the Queen's furious hissing.
Jax! The joints!
Jax leaped from the ledge, his spear pointed downward. Rare Tier: Piercing Thrust!
His spear glowed with a bronze light as he aimed for the Queen's secondary leg joint. The strike was true, hitting the gap in the armor. But the Queen's carapace was too thick, her mana-reinforced skin acting like a layer of steel. The spear deflected with a shower of sparks, only leaving a shallow, smoking scratch.
The Queen shrieked in annoyance, her massive, segmented tail whipping around to swat Jax out of the air like a fly.
Authority: Void Displacement.
In a flash that left no mana trail and made no sound, Lucius appeared in mid-air. He caught Jax by the shoulder in one hand, his sword held steady in the other. Before the Queen's tail could connect, the space folded. They were both standing on the opposite side of the clearing.
Jax stumbled as his feet hit the ground, his eyes wide. What... how? There was no delay! Lucius, you didn't charge!
Concentrate, Lucius said, his gaze locked on the monster. Hans! Now!
Hans leaned out from behind the pillar, his eyes squeezed shut in terror as he poured every drop of his remaining mana into a single point. Mana Bolt: Overdrive!
A massive sphere of blue energy shot across the grotto. It didn't hit the Queen's head; Lucius had told him to aim for the egg sac on her underbelly, the one spot where her armor was thin to allow for the heat of gestation.
The bolt exploded against the soft, translucent tissue.
The Queen let out a sound that wasn't a hiss, but a scream of pure, unadulterated agony. Green, acidic ichor sprayed across the moss, sizzling as it ate through the flora. The monster thrashed, her legs flailing wildly as she tried to protect her clutch, her movements becoming erratic and desperate.
This was the opening.
Lucius walked forward. He wasn't running. He was walking with the steady, inevitable pace of an executioner.
The Queen noticed him and tried to strike, but her movements were slowed by the agony in her belly. She swung a massive front limb, but Lucius simply tilted his head, the blade passing inches from his ear.
Authority: Exodus.
The air within five meters of Lucius began to ripple and distort. The red light of the bioluminescence was sucked into a vacuum, replaced by a colorless, oppressive void. It was as if the world itself was being overwritten by a higher power.
Chapter 1: All Things Being Equal.
The Skarn-Queen's mana, which had been a raging bonfire of Peak C-rank power, suddenly flickered and dimmed. Her stats, bolstered by her rank and her rage, were being forcibly dragged down to a level playing field. The parity of the Authority didn't care about her status or her size; it only enforced the Law of parity.
Inside the domain, the Queen was no longer a monarch. She was just a creature. A large, scared creature.
Lucius gripped his hilt with both hands. His mastery, honed to the peak and fused into his soul, guided the blade. He didn't need a system prompt to tell him where to strike. He acted as the executor of the Law he had created.
The Queen tried to let out one last screech, but the sound died in her throat as Lucius moved.
The strike was silent. It was a blur of silver light that seemed to cut through the very concept of the monster's defense.
Lucius moved past the Queen, his footsteps light on the moss. For a moment, time seemed to stop. The dust in the air froze.
The green ichor dripping from the ceiling stayed suspended. Jax and Hans watched as Lucius stood behind the massive creature, his back to her, slowly sheathing his blade.
Click.
The sound of the sword locking into the scabbard acted as the trigger.
A thin, glowing line appeared across the Queen's armored neck. Then another across her thorax. Then another across her primary limbs. The lines glowed with a faint, white light before the pressure of the Queen's own weight did the rest.
The Skarn-Queen didn't even have time to shriek. Her massive body slid apart in perfect, clinical segments. The bone-plate, the crimson carapace, the mana organs, everything was severed with a precision that defied the laws of physics. The segments hit the floor with heavy, wet thuds, a mountain of meat falling in a matter of seconds.
You have slain the Skarn-Queen (C-Rank Peak - Dungeon Boss)
+2500 EXP
+5 stat points
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
(+2 per level up)
+6 stat points
STATUS PANEL
Name: Lucius van Venus
Level: 21
Talents: Law of One [God Tier] (Can combine skills/ talents to create a different one)
Strength: 19
Agility: 20
Mana: 26
Sensitivity: 15
Endurance: 13
Available Stat Points: 11
AUTHORITIES
Authority: EXODUS [??]
Chapter 1: All Things Being Equal (Passive/Active Domain. Forces parity between the user and all entities within a 5-meter radius. Strips away level advantages and stat-buffs)
Chapter 2: White Void
A domain-type Authority that drags the user and target into an isolated space known as the White Void.
(Remaining Chapters: Sealed)
Exodus: [Conceptual Sword Art]
[Nature]: A law-bound scripture. The user acts as both Author and Executor.
Authority: VOID DISPLACEMENT [??]
A spatial Authority derived from Teleportation.
→ Allows instantaneous displacement without delay.
→ Ignores conventional activation time.
→ Limited to 3 uses per day due to strain on space stability.
Uses Remaining: 01/3 (Charges reset every 24 hours)
SKILLS:
Poison Immunity [max]
Immune to all poison and abnormal status effects.
Lucius exhaled, a small cloud of mist escaping his lips in the cold grotto. The void of his Authority dissipated, and the red bioluminescence returned, illuminating the pile of segmented meat that used to be a terror of the dungeon.
Jax dropped his spear, falling to his knees. His breath was coming in ragged gasps as he stared at the remains of the Queen, then at Lucius.
He couldn't see the status window, but he could see the reality. A student they called fallen had just dismantled a Peak C-rank Boss as if he were carving paper.
That... that wasn't Teleportation, Jax whispered, his voice trembling. And that wasn't just swordsmanship. Lucius... what are you?
Lucius didn't answer. He walked over to the Queen's remains and picked up a glowing, crimson crystal that had dropped from her core. A Dungeon Heart fragment. It pulsed in his hand like a dying heart.
I am the one who is passing this exam, Lucius said.
Hans crawled out from behind the pillar, his face covered in soot and sweat. He looked at the carnage, then at his own trembling hands. We did it. We actually cleared a Boss. We are going to the Sparring Evaluation.
Don't celebrate yet, Lucius said, turning his gaze toward the exit of the grotto. The Group Dungeon was meant to weed out the weak.
The Sparring Evaluation is where the Nobles will try to reclaim their pride. And after seeing this... the Academy won't make it easy for us.
He looked up at the ceiling, his Sensitivity picking up the faint, distant hum of a scrying orb. He knew Evelyn was watching. He knew the entire Academy leadership was likely debating his existence at this very moment. He could almost feel their eyes on the back of his neck.
He didn't care.
He had 11 stat points to distribute. He had a soul engraved with the peak of combat. And he had an Authority that made the world bow to his will.
Let's go, Lucius said, his voice echoing in the hollow grotto. We have an arena to reach.
As they walked out of the bioluminescent grave, leaving the remains of the Queen behind, the shadows of the dungeon seemed to retreat from Lucius, as if the darkness itself had learned to fear the name Venus.
To Be Continued.